Lionel Messi is having a big week. The soccer GOAT had a record-breaking performance in Argentina's second group-stage match against Austria, picking up a brace and taking over as the FIFA World Cup top goalscorer among men and women. He also turned 39 on Wednesday, showing that for some, age is just a number. For Messi's birthday, here are 39 World Cup stats about the GOAT. 18: Messi scored his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals on Monday. The two goals helped him break a tie with German legend Miroslav Klose for the most goals scored ever by a men's player at the World Cup, and Brazil icon Marta for the most goals scored ever by any player at the World Cup. 18: Messi won his 18th match at the World Cup with Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria on Monday, passing Miroslav Klose for the most in men's World Cup history. 6: Messi also tied the record for most consecutive matches scored in a men's World Cup with six (Jairzinho, Just Fontaine) in Monday's match. 4: Messi has now scored four or more goals in three different men's World Cups. The only other player to do that is Miroslav Klose. 23: 23% of all goals ever scored by players aged 35 or older at the men's World Cup belong to Messi (per OPTA). 3: Messi became the third man to score a brace after missing a penalty in a match, after Alessandro Altobelli in 1990 and David Villa in 2010. 5: Messi became the fourth man to score five goals in his first two matches of a World Cup tournament, after Sandor Kocsis in 1954 (seven), Just Fontaine in 1958 (five) and Harry Kane in 2018 (five). 5: Messi recorded his fifth multi-goal game at a World Cup (four braces, one hat trick) with his performance on Monday. 2.5: The 2.5 goals Messi has scored per match so far in this tournament would be the most goals scored ever per match in World Cup history among players who've scored at least five goals. 20: If Argentina reaches the final and Messi plays in all eight matches, he'd be on pace to score 20 goals over the course of the tournament. That would break the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup by seven. France's Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup. 28: Messi logged his 28th career World Cup match on Monday, extending his record for the most World Cup matches played by a single player. 21: Monday's match was the 21st time that Messi was Argentina's captain for a World Cup match, extending his record. 13: Messi won his 13th Man of the Match award at the FIFA World Cup on Monday, extending his record. 2,489: Following Wednesday's match, Messi has now played 2,489 minutes at the World Cup. That's the most of any player at the World Cup. 8: Messi's eight Ballons d'Ors are the most ever. Could he possibly win his ninth after another strong World Cup showing? 2: Messi is the only player to have won the World Cup's Golden Ball award on multiple occasions (2014, 2022). Prior to Monday, Messi was tied for the second-best odds to win the award at +650. 38: Messi's hat trick in Argentina's opening match against Algeria made him the oldest player to score a hat trick in World Cup history, doing so at 38 years, 357 days old. He passed Cristiano Ronaldo, who held the record with his hat trick against Spain in 2018 at 33 years old. 38: Messi's also the oldest player to score a brace in the history of the World Cup, as he was 38 years old and 363 days old when he scored twice on Monday. 6: Messi was one of the first two players to appear in six World Cups, with the other being Cristiano Ronaldo. 5: Messi became the second player to score in five different World Cups, with his first goal in this tournament. He joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only other player to score in that many different World Cups. 3: Messi is the fourth-oldest goalscorer in a men's World Cup at 38 years old. He was previously the third-oldest goalscorer in a men's World Cup, but 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo's two goals on Tuesday pushed him down the list. Roger Milla (42 in 1994) and Pepe (39 in 2022) are the other players older than Messi to have scored in a World Cup match. 200: With 201 career international appearances, Messi is one of three players with 200 career international caps. The other two are Cristiano Ronaldo (230) and Bader Al-Mutawa (202). 5: Messi has scored five goals from outside the box in his World Cup career, equaling the most of any player since 1966 (Rivellino) (per OPTA). 11: Messi has scored 11 hat-tricks in his career for Argentina, which is the most in the history of the federation and among all men's players in international play. He's only one short of Alex Morgan's record for the most international hat-tricks scored among all men's and women's players. 8: Messi's eight assists at the World Cup are tied for the most assists at the World Cup among all players. Only Diego Maradona has as many assists. 802: Messi's 802 non-penalty kick goals are the most such goals ever scored in soccer history. 109: Messi's 109 goals from outside the box are also the most such goals ever scored in soccer history. 32: With his 14 career goals at Copa América, Messi's 32 goals at major international tournaments are the most ever. 29: While Messi has already scored five goals in this tournament, his best play is arguably yet to come. His 29 goal contributions in knockout matches of major international tournaments are the most ever. 414: While Messi's goalscoring has been historically good, he's also arguably the best player at setting up teammates in soccer history as well. His 414 career assists are the most ever. 18: Messi is the youngest player to record a goal and an assist in a World Cup match. He had a goal and an assist in Argentina's 6-0 victory over Serbia 1: Messi is the only player to have ever scored in the FIFA Men's World Cup as a teenager, 20-year-old and 30-year-old. 7: Messi has attempted seven penalty kicks, the most of any player in World Cup history (excluding penalty shootouts). 20: Messi scored his first World Cup goal and his most recent World Cup goal 20 years apart, tied with Cristiano Ronaldo for the longest stretch between first and most recent World Cup goal ever. 3: Messi is one of three players who hold the unique distinction of being both the youngest and oldest scorer for their country at the men's World Cup, along with Michael Laudrup (Denmark) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). 122: Messi has scored 122 goals for Argentina, the second-most of any man in international football history (Cristiano Ronaldo- 145). 2: Messi is one of two South American players ever to score in a World Cup match at 18 years old or younger, along with Pelé. 78: Messi has created 78 chances in his World Cup career, the most of any player ever since this data was recorded (1966, per OPTA). 2,074: Messi is the only player to eclipse 2,000 touches at the World Cup since this data was tracked (1966, per OPTA).
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